Benefits of the CR1 Spouse Visa
A CR1 spousal visa is issued to foreign nationals who desire to live in the US with their spouses who are citizens of the United States or permanent residents. It is applicable for those couples only who have been married for two years or less. The ‘CR’ in the CR1 spousal visa stands for ‘conditional residency’.
The conditions are that the petitioner must be a US citizen or a permanent resident of the country. The petitioner also needs to meet the income requirement as required for the CR1 spousal visa. The petitioner and the applicant also need to be legally married to each other. You can apply to remove the conditions by filing the I-751 form along with your spouse. The conditions are only present to minimize immigration-related frauds.
For those who have been married for more than two years, there is a different visa available for them.
There are many benefits of the CR1 spousal visa.
Permanent Residency
The CR1 spousal visa comes with the benefit of the applicant getting the permanent residency card (the Green Card) immediately upon arrival to the US.
If there is no problem with the visa, you will receive your permanent residency card within 7-10 business days of your arrival to the US. You won’t need to go through the adjustment of status (AOS) process if you receive the permanent residency. The AOS is the process to help immigrants with CR1 or other immigrant visas to apply for the Green Card.
If you enter the country with a fiancée/fiancé K1 visa, you don’t get this benefit. In fact, the validity of the K1 visa is just 90 days.
The Cost-Savings Benefits
When you don’t need to go through the AOS process, you can save the money you would have otherwise spent on the fee required for it. The cost of filing the application and all that is required for the process can be significant. The overall cost can depend on paying for the relevant forms, the application, and other fees associated with the process.
When you enter the US on a CR1 spousal visa, you will not need to pay additionally for the AOS process. You are automatically entitled to receive your permanent residency upon arrival to the US.
The Saving of Time
When you can get your permanent residency card based on your CR1 visa status, you save a lot of time in applying for additional documents to stay in the US.
In some countries like the Philippines, the processing time for the CR1 spousal visas is also short. You can expect it within 5-10 months based on your specific situation. The rest of the process will depend on your specific situation. The important thing is to file the visa application without errors and answer correctly to all the interview questions.
If you are unsure of applying correctly for the CR1 spousal visa, you can work with visa processing companies or specialists to help you with the process.
Fewer Hassles
When you can save time and money involved for the permanent residency due to your CR1 spousal visa, you automatically save yourself, your spouse, and your family from a lot of stress.
The visa application process can be quite tiresome. If you manage to make any errors on the application form, you can further delay the process and add more stress involved with it. So, the fewer applications you need to file, the fewer hassles you will experience related to it.
The Freedom to Work and Travel
As you will receive your permanent residency card soon after arrival to the US based on the CR1 spousal visa, it will be legal for your work in the country. You can also easily travel outside the US as you won’t need any new visa to re-enter the country. The CR1 spousal visa itself is valid for a period of six months from the date of issuance. So, armed with these benefits and the quick processing of your permanent residency card, you can begin your normal life with your spouse in the US soon after your arrival in the country.